Critical Review #5: Back (Part 1)

In "'Inglan, nice up!': black music, autonomy and the cultural intermezzo", Back talks about how and why a black english music scene developed in Britain. He mentions how it was developed as "black bans" let working class blacks to look for other types of leisure. Because of this, black run venues emerged. This allowed caribbean blacks to create their music through a mix of reggae, eventually adding rap and creating their own mixes. He mentions how this music although it first talked about th realities in Jamaica, it then talked about the realities of blacks in England, who felt englishness and blackness was separate. These two identities he argues, are brought together by dance.

Why do you think rap music, which started in America, was so easily adopted by blacks in London? Do you think it has to do with similarities in their realities or backgrounds? Or simply because they could relate to it as "black" music?